Low Living

Day two hundred five

I am looking forward to this Sabbath day.  I left a busy week behind me and I have a busy week ahead of me, so I could really use an opportunity to be edified, take the sacrament, and get myself centered on what is really important.  My prayer was filled with gratitude for these opportunities and the joy that they bring in my life.  What a great gift from a God who loves us!

Judges 6:1-10

The time of ‘rest’ after the activities of Barak and Deborah was now over, for in their passing Israel once more slipped back into their old ways. The same pattern we have seen throughout the Book of Judges: 

The children of Israel would serve the Lord as long as they had a strong leader. When that leader passed from the scene, they fell back into their sins.

When they sinned, God used the pagan nations living around them to chastise Israel. He allowed their enemies to afflict and oppress Israel to show them the high price of low living.

Then when the people are at the end of their rope, they cry to the Lord and He sends a deliverer.  This deliverer leads the Israelites to conquer their enemies and there is a time of rest.

In chapter 6 we are introduced to a man named Gideon.  When Gideon appears, he is an unlikely choice to be a deliverer. He is hiding out of fear for Israel’s enemies (v 11). Gideon was guilty of fear and a little faithlessness, but he was God’s choice to be the next judge of Israel, and God used him in a wonderful way.

This is another chapter that requires more than one post to cover some of the great lessons the Lord is teaching His people, so I will break it down into a few posts.  This post will focus on low living.

Verses 1-10. These verses serve as a parable that speaks about the high cost of low living. They teach us the truth that disobedience to the will of the Lord in our lives carries a price higher than we would ever want to pay.

The Bible simply says that “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.” We do not know what their sin was, but we can assume that it was the same sin they had been guilty of in the past (Judges 2:19; 3:5-7). They were prone to walking the same foolish pathway. They were guilty of falling into the same trap.

All of us have those areas of life that cause us trouble. Some have problems with their language. Some have problems with stubbornness and submission. Some have problems with gossip. Some have issues with sexual sin. Some have a pull toward alcohol and drugs. People struggle in many different areas.

We know our weaknesses and we know that given the right circumstances, we will have trouble overcoming temptation. My thoughts drifted to how do we successfully fight this battle and what do the scriptures tell us about this?

Here are a few definite steps we can take:

·         Do not play near the trap. If you know there is an area of danger in your life, stay away from that danger (Gen. 39:12; 2 Tim. 2:22; Eph. 4:27.) Keep your distance (1 Pet. 5:8.) 

·         Look for the avenue of escape (1 Cor. 10:13.) God will make a way out of our temptations, but it is up to us to use it!

·         Reckon yourself to be dead to sin and its influences (Rom. 6:11; Col. 3:3-5.)

·         Determine in your heart to serve God and Him only (Rom. 6:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20.)

·         Remember this is a lifetime pursuit, but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27.)

It always impresses me that all the temptations and sin in the world are talked about in the scriptures, the Lord has seen it all, but the focus isn't on the problems it is on the solutions, we just have to look for them.  This is a good area for me to focus on: Solutions, not the problem. I have wasted way too much time fretting over the problem, when the wiser use of my time and efforts would be to focus on the solution!  Once again the Israelites have helped guide me to a lesson I needed to be reminded of.  I am growing to appreciate them more and more.